Pumpkin Pie is one of the requirements at our Thanksgiving table. My husband loves it so much I make it several times even before Thanksgiving arrives. Over the years of experimenting this recipe has been updated and refined so it turns out very well. This recipe is grain-free and dairy-free and if you didn't know that before trying it you probably wouldn't notice a difference. The crust is made with almond flour instead of a traditional white flour crust and the cow's milk has been replaced with coconut milk. The coconut milk works very well and makes this pie very creamy.

For a pie recipe, this one is relatively quick to make. I put this one together in less then an hour including the crust.

Pumpkin Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and press into a 9″ pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool before filling. While the crust is in the oven, mix together the filling.

Filling

2 cups pumpkin

3 eggs

1 can coconut milk

¾ cup maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

Pinch cloves

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425°. Mix together all ingredients with a mixer or a whisk until blended well. Pour the filling batter into the pre-baked pie crust. Bake in oven for 15 minutes at 425° then reduce temperature to 350° and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when it comes to a summertime treat? Probably ice cream! That is what comes to my mind, cooling off with a nice cold ice cream cone. I am raising my family to be dairy-free so we come up with other alternatives to the traditional ice cream cone.

Before I continue…Why dairy-free? See my post; Eliminate this Food and Cure Your Allergies, for the complete details but the major reason why I chose not to give my daughter dairy is because of the results I got for myself when I stopped eating it. Dairy products have been cited as a cause of many ailments including menstrual pains, asthma, excess mucus, allergies, skin conditions, and mood swings. Personally, I used to get sick with colds and strep throat multiple times each winter but when I eliminated dairy products from my diet this virtually disappeared.

Ice cream can be a hard thing to give up but not when you have a tasty alternative available in your freezer. I make these pops for my daughter in the Annabel Karmel Fill and Freeze Puree Pops It’s a really good size for toddlers and it has a handle that is easy for them to hold. Not only is this a great ice cream alternative but it helps to ease sore gums from teething.

This is the recipe for the pop mold I am using but you can adjust the amounts for a larger adult size pop or a pop for older children:

1/3 cup fresh or frozen fruit, peeled and chopped

4 tbsp coconut milk, almond milk, or fruit juice

Put the fruit and liquid into a blender and blend until smooth. Fill the pop mold with the fruit puree and freeze.

It is great to make a large batch at one time and put them into the freezer so they are ready to go when the kids want them. If you have something on hand it makes it much easier to avoid the dairy alternatives.

In nature, female mammals nourish their babies with their own milk and stop after a relatively brief period of growth. After this time, young mammals never again show any interesting milk nor do they have access to it. Humans are the only mammals who continue to consume milk into adulthood. The truth is we don’t need dairy. In addition to this, dairy is loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol which contributes to clogged arteries and heart disease. Also dairy has been cited as a significant contributing cause of the many ailments including menstrual pains, asthma, excess mucus, allergies, skin conditions, and mood swings.

Many people are allergic to dairy products or even have a mild intolerance to diary and don’t know it. Dairy products cause the body to produce more mucus which is a breeding ground for colds and causes symptoms of allergies. Personally, I used to suffer with colds and allergies every year and this was virtually non-existent when I quit eating dairy all together.

In addition, the modern methods of dairy processing are cause for concern as well. The average cow produces milk for about 300 days after giving birth. In an attempt to keep daily production levels high farmers administer a bovine growth hormone, BST. Experts say this has many adverse side effects for the cow and for humans. The use of BST has been banned in Canada and Europe but is still allowed in the US. Although, recently many companies are starting to make a commitment to their customers to stop using hormones in their products.

In order to maximize the number of days a cow can produce milk, they are kept pregnant most of their lives on both commercial and organic farms. During pregnancy female cows hormones like estrogen and progesterone are sky high and these hormones are present in their milk. There is both concern and evidence that consuming dairy is linked to high rates of breast cancer. I strongly encourage you to explore alternatives to your milk products.

Alternatives to dairy:

Rice milk

Almond milk / Nut cheese

Oat milk

Coconut milk / coconut yogurt

A common question in response to this topic – how am I going to get enough calcium if I don’t eat dairy?

Contrary to popular belief, dairy does not prevent osteoporosis or bone fracture. Numerous studies have been conducted on the countries with the highest dairy intake – US, Sweden, and Holland and these countries have the highest incidence of osteoporosis and fractures. While countries with the lowest intake such as Japan and South Africa have the lowest.

This is a really hard concept for people to grasp because doctors are constantly telling us to drink milk. It’s really unfortunate but doctors are NOT trained in nutrition. In all the years of medical school they maybe have 1 or 2 classes on nutrition. A lot of doctors go to the nutrition school that I went to (Institute for Integrative Nutrition) because they have no clue how to advise their patients when it comes to food.

These are some non-dairy foods that are high in calcium:

Sesame seeds

Sardines

Amaranth

Collard greens

Kale

Almonds

Parsley

If you are concerned about calcium add some of these foods into your diet. Regardless of their calcium levels these foods are really nutritious and health foods to eat anyway. Sesame seeds happen to be the highest in calcium. They have 1160 mg of calcium in 100 grams of seeds where 100 grams of milk only has 291mg. Eat sesame in the form of Tahini and it’s delicious. Tahini makes a great addition to hummus and is great in sauces and dressings. Eating a diary-free diet is very healthy and delicious even though it may seem impossible at first.

If you are struggling with making a diet change whether it be dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, or anything else I am available for on-on-one phone coaching to get you through this process. Depending on location, health food store tours, cooking instruction, and in-person coaching may be available.